U.S. Pat. No. 3,519,503 to Moore et al entitled "Fabrication Method for the High Temperature Alloys", of common assignee herewith, describes a forging process developed by Pratt & Whitney Aircraft, Division of United Technologies Corporation, Hartford, Connecticut and known internationally as the GATORIZING.RTM. forging process. By the disclosed process, high strength, difficult to forge alloys such as those used in the gas turbine engine industry, are deformable from a billet of stock material to a nearly finished shape of relatively complex geometry. Although, only disk-shaped components were initially forged, the attractiveness of forming integrally bladed rotor disks spurred subsequent developments.
An initial die package and process for forming such integrally bladed rotors is disclosed and illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,051,708 to Beane et al entitled "Forging Method" and in the divisional case thereof U.S. Pat. No. 4,074,559 to Beane et al also entitled "Forging Method". Both patents are of common assignee herewith. In accordance with these concepts, integral appendages are forged between a plurality of adjacent dies positioned about the circumference of the disk forming dies. Yet further advances include the techniques for separating the appendage forming dies from the finished forging. Two such techniques are illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,041,161 to Kelch entitled "Apparatus and Method for Removing a Plurality of Blade Dies" and 4,150,557 to Walker et al entitled "Forging Apparatus Having Means for Radially Moving Blade Die Segments".
Notwithstanding the above stated advances in the forging field, scientists and engineers continue to search for new concepts and techniques which enhance the manufacturability of forged components and improve the quality of such components.